Making it in professional golf is often seen as the dream, but for many players it's a struggle just to break even - as Ladies European Tour pro Hannah Gregg has revealed.
The 29-year-old American has been extremely informative in revealing the costs most golf fans don't even know exist as she tries to make it on the LET.
The Arizona-based player previously detailed the cost of getting to and through Q-School on the LET in a video on her social media platforms, explaining that even the winner of the whole event may not have broken even.
And on her first week on the LET of 2024 Gregg has again illustrated the varied and costly expenses involved in chasing the dream of being a pro golfer.
While the men's pro golf world is busy arguing about their future while pocketing millions and millions of increased prize money, at the other end of the spectrum some female golfers have real problems to deal with.
Gregg even managed to cut costs on things like accommodation and car rental from a trip to Australia, where she played in the Women's NSW Open and the Australian Women's Classic on the LET.
After making the cut at the Women's NSW Open and finishing 54th, Gregg was still short of breaking even for the tournament - which would have required her to finish 24th, while only finishing 21st of higher would actually make her money.
Expenses of my first week on Ladies European Tour:Flights: $2600Work Visa: $350Food: $377Caddie: $0 because I have an amazing Fiancé Hotel: $0 because @GregChalmersPGA sorted me host housing for the week! 🙌Rental Car: +0 because the Tour Tee guys GAVE me their car 😭🫶…April 26, 2024
Reading the details of Gregg's finances while competing on the LET show what real pressure is when playing golf - as she's fighting to finish high enough up the leaderboard just to at least cover her expenses.
With a lot of the LET events carrying a total prize fund of just €300,000, it shows that for many golfers it's just not viable financially playing on the tour, unless you're in and around the leading finishers.
Gregg revealed she spent $3672 getting to the tournament in Australia, where she won $1244 for finishing 54th in the field.
Since we didn’t finish 36 holes this week, we couldn’t get world ranking points or official money. The Tour decided to pay out 1/2 the purse, and @GolfNSW stepped up and paid every single player in the field $500 just for showing up. Something they definitely weren’t obligated to…April 8, 2024
That includes entry fees for the event and a work visa - costs you wouldn't usually think of outside of food, accommodation and travel.
It's an eye-opening insight into the state of women's golf on the LET, which still looks to be struggling despite all the massive amount of money that's washing around the sport in other areas.
A second tournament Gregg took part in Down Under could not be completed due to weather, which was another blow to her finances.
